News

Pantex Emergency Management received the Texas Emergency Management Partnership Recognition Award at the annual Texas Department of Emergency Management Conference in San Antonio. Each year, this award is given to one business, nonprofit, school, hospital, or government agency for contribution to its local community by demonstrating a significant commitment to creating a strong partnership with the local government officials and participation in local community preparedness initiatives.

Congratulations to Pantex Fire Chief Mike Brock who has successfully completed the professional designation of chief fire officer.

Manager of Pantex Emergency Services Daniel Gleaves said, “Mike is one of only 1,305 CFOs worldwide. It’s another example of his dedication and professionalism.”

A comprehensive peer review determined Brock met the stringent criteria, which includes demonstrating excellence in his experience, education, professional development, professional contributions, association membership, community involvement, and technical competence.

The Pantex Fire Department recently won Best Ribs and People’s Choice Award at the annual Battle of the Badges Barbeque Style Cook-off. While there, the group presented the @100 Club of the Texas Panhandle with a $500 check to help further their mission of supporting area emergency workers. After the event, members of the fire department took all of the leftover barbeque to the men and women fighting the grass fires in Armstrong County.

Pantex recently held its annual Armed Forces Day celebration to recognize and thank veterans and active military members for their service in support of our country. The ceremony featured presentation of the colors by the Pantex Fire Department Honor Guard, recognition of the POW/MIA table, and a keynote address by Lyle Cary, CNS vice president for Safeguards, Security, and Emergency Services.

Pantex hosted a Partners in Excellence Outreach Forum attended by representatives from 61 companies looking to do work with CNS.

Small Business Program Manager Ryan Johnston said, “Pantex must have a broad base of contractors to partner with to ensure mission success. The forum provided local and national contractors the knowledge needed to establish these partnerships.”

Discussion included upcoming opportunities for construction related scopes, an overview of the site, and how to do business with CNS.

CNS hosted its inaugural Fellows Colloquium March 28 at Y 12, and CNS President and CEO Morgan Smith called it a historic day. The forum was established to highlight CNS’s vital technical work and to honor its first four fellows for their vast technical knowledge and their abilities to mentor others.

“This is our declaration that we are an organization that does work of tremendous scientific and technical significance for our nation, and this work requires the very best. It’s our most senior scientific and technical rank or title and connotes that we are engaged in activities that merit this level of personnel — equal to what occurs elsewhere in high technology industries,” said Smith.

Glenn Pfennigwerth (Uranium Fellow), Alan Moore (Metallurgy), Vincent Lamberti (Y 12 Surveillance), and Lorelei Woods (Pantex Surveillance) were recognized as our strategic advisors and top mentors and were pinned by Smith. With a combined 143 years of experience, these fellows set the bar high. Each fellow presented the state of their area of expertise, and 18 other Pantex and Y 12 technical experts presented posters covering diverse areas of expertise — from explosives and advanced manufacturing to nonproliferation and lithium.

“The colloquium was vitally important to showcase the great technical work we do and to honor the individuals who are leading us into the future,” said Ashley Stowe, CNS Fellows program manager. “The excitement for staff at Pantex and Y 12 encourages me as we move forward and continue to grow an excellent technical staff. This is just the beginning, however; we are already looking forward to hosting the 2019 colloquium at Pantex.”

The Leadership Amarillo Class of 2017/2018 recently visited Pantex. After a history overview, the group visited a weapon display and a security bearcat vehicle display. The community leaders also experienced an explosive demonstration at the firing site.

There is no Planet B, so Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC focuses on recycling everything from regular office paper to electronic equipment and scrap metal. In Fiscal Year 2017, employees at Pantex and Y-12 recycled more than 4.6 million pounds of materials, demonstrating their commitment to environmental stewardship.

Pantex Plant’s Emergency Management Department will conduct a site-wide Full-Participation Emergency Exercise on April 17. You may observe response personnel simulating response activities as part of the exercise. Do not be alarmed if you see some of this activity. Due to the scenario, a portion of Pantex may close during parts of the exercise. Please avoid the exercise areas as they are announced. For this exercise, plant personnel will be expected to take the announced protective actions. This is a large-scale exercise, so please limit calls to the OC. Do not call the OC to ask if you are participating.

Emergency exercises test the ability of emergency personnel to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations and ensure the public, Pantex employees, and the environment would be protected in the event of an actual emergency. If you observe suspicious activity before or after April 17, please report your observations to 477-5000.

Pantex has a new fire truck that was built customized to input provided by Pantex fire department members.

The new Administrative Support Complex requires that the Pantex Fire Department be able to reach the third floor in the event of a fire, but the current equipment would only reach to the top of a two story building. Knowing that is would be a requirement, the fire department set the gears in motion for a new fire truck with a ladder a little over a year ago.

“We really started thinking outside of the box with this truck,” said Robert Napp, Pantex Fire Captain. “Knowing we needed something that would reach the top floors at the new building, the Fire Chief wanted the most capable piece of equipment we could get that would fit in our station. We started talking about what would be useful for us during rescues — how could we get the most bang for our buck.”

The new truck was built in the United States, but the 102 foot ladder that sits atop the truck was made in Germany by a company that has been in the business of making ladders for fire trucks for more than 100 years.